Fast Five Friday

This is my train of thought post of the week - five things I am thinking about.

1 - I am on a beach. I am not a huge beach person. They are fine, but just sitting in the sun on the beach is not my favorite thing to do. But since Scarlett and Sierra are here, there is a lot of digging and jumping in waves and squeals of delight. Vacation is good.

2 - I don't lead worship this weekend. This is a strange one for me. When I have weekends like this it messes up my internal clock, but it is a good thing. We all need to get out of our routines and have a break every once in a while.

3 - A 17-hour car ride with two little girls and two adult women was a long car ride :) In all honesty. it went well and we had as good a time as we could.

4 - Our former intern is leading worship at OSLC this weekend. If you know Jeremy, swing by and say hi.

5 - Scarlett still likes to pretend she is a talking dog. Not quite sure where this came from, but I do have fun scratching behind her ears.

So what happened last week with you?

Being Fed

One of the great joys I have in life is being able to sit down with people, have a cup of coffee, and talk, just talk, about life, faith and anything else we feel like talking about.

Because of the busy-ness of being pastor, I don't always get that chance to just sit and talk. Over the years I have learned that I actually have to schedule this time, time to go to the coffee shop and visit with folks.

So a couple of times a month I head out to either Starbucks or Bagels and More and invite people to join me. We will sit there for an hour or so, sitting, talking, building relationships, and overall just having a good time. I have gotten to know a number of people quite a bit better through these times, and I have also been fed.

Sometimes I am moving in so many different directions, I need to be slowed down and reminded about why I do what I do.

I need to reflect on how what I teach and say and preach relates to everyday.

I need to be fed with coffee and conversation.

What is it that feeds you?

Scarlett, Star Wars, and Duck Dynasty

As I said yesterday, we are on vacation this week. So my funny of the week comes from before Easter.

My kids bring me an amazing amount of joy, and the words that come out of their mouths, well, they are priceless.

A while ago I thought it was my fatherly duty to introduce the girls to Star Wars. These are classic movies, and, well, all children should be exposed to this cinematic wonderland.

So we went to the library to check it out, and Sierra was less than enthused, but decided to humor me. Scarlett had no idea what was going on, but didn't really care either.

So we go home and Sierra, Jennifer and I started watching Star Wars while Scarlett napped. I loved it, Sierra, again, wasn't quite sure about it.

When Scarlett woke up she came down and watched  a few minutes of it. Got into the plot, as she often does with shows, and was enjoying it.

Then we had other stuff to do. So we would finish the movie later.

That evening I was watching a little bit of Duck Dynasty, a "reality" show that makes me laugh. It was an episode where two guys take their wives hunting and it is a disaster.

Scarlett saw a little bit of it. Then she boldly said, I want to go hunting and kill a deer and eat it for dinner.
 
Jennifer responded by saying that killing means making the deer dead. You don't wanna do that.

Scarlett then said,  Oh. No. But in Star Wars, they killed the bad guys and ate them for dinner.

 I think it would be good if I didn't combine those two shows again in the future.

Tuesday Readings

I am on vacation this week, which is a great time for me to read. During this week I will be readings through some mystery and suspense books, stuff that is quick to read, gets me involved, and takes me away from the normally weekly reading I do at work.

But one of the books I started before vacation is the new one by Rob Bell. It is called "What We Talk About When We Talk About God."

Rob Bell was the founding pastor at Mars Hill in Michigan. He is a very dynamic speaker and writer and has a way of drawing his audience in and keeping us, even when he is discussing dome pretty deep stuff.

Not long ago he left Mars Hill and moved to California where he is doing his ministry in a new way. He continues to write and produce videos to share his faith.

This book, which I only just started, has to do with how we talk about God in our own lives and even how we view God. He also issues a challenge, of sorts, in how we understand God.

I am not sure what I think yet, I need to be more that 17 pages into it. But he is thought provoking. More on this book later.

4/1 - Upcoming Posts

Now that we have entered the Easter season and finished our Lenten Journey, I am working on some new regular post ideas. I am not sure how long these series will go, but it is a start.

On Mondays I am going to be doing a Models of Faith. I will look at people who have made an impact on me throughout my life and why they have been inspirations to me,

Tuesdays will be What I am Reading day. Sometimes people ask me what I have been reading and so I want to share some of the gems I run across. I am an eclectic reader, so there should be a good variety of stuff here.

Wednesday will be my Funny of the Week. What was it during the past week that made me laugh. We all need to laugh in our lives, and I hope some of my funnies will may you laugh too.

Thursday is about Being Fed. Just like you, I need to be fed spiritually too. So I will share what it was that fed me lately.

Friday will be Fast Five Friday - the first five things I am thinking about. This could be interesting in seeing how my mind wanders.

Saturday is about joy - what is that made me smile, gave me joy over the past week.

And Sunday will be faith reflections. It may be about the sermon for the weekend, a hymn or song that moved me, or anything that causes me to reflect on the gift of faith.

Odds are I will miss a day or two, but I am going to try and be dedicated to my writing here as I have the past season of lent. As always, if you have any comments or questions, please let me know.

Erik

Easter Sunday

Today we celebrate the cornerstone of our Christian faith - the resurrection of Jesus.

On this day, as we gather with our brothers and sisters around the world, may we all take some time and reflect on the gift of new life we have been blessed with.

This is a new life where we are welcomed into an embrace filled with grace and hope. We are told that all of our sins, our shames, our failings are washed away and hope is born.

We are given an amazing gift called forgiveness, and we can walk boldly knowing that the last word is not death, but it is birth - the birth of the resurrection.

Have a blessed Easter.

Luke in 40 - Luke 24 cont.

Luke 24:36-53 

Congratulations -  you have done it.

In 40 days you have read the whole Gospel according to Luke.

We end with Jesus appearing to the disciples and then ascending into heaven.

What did you learn as you read through this gospel?

What surprised you?

What made you curious?

Thank you for joining me on this journey. I am sure that there will be more to come soon.